These authorities are supervised by the State Agency for Central Police Services (LZPD) in Duisburg.

Although investigations are principally the responsibility of each regional police force, NRW’s LKA investigates and prosecutes crimes if the Police Organisation Act requires it or if the Interior Ministry, Ministry of Justice, a court of justice or a public prosecutor’s office requests its involvement.

The state's water police (Wasserschutzpolizei) is centrally organized and patrols over 900 km of waterways.

The force has 24 boats and patrols the Rhine, Weser, Ems and Ruhr (as far as Essen) rivers and the North German canals.

Highway patrol (Autobahnpolizei) duties are conducted from bases in the five biggest local police districts - Cologne, Düsseldorf, Münster, Dortmund, and Bielefeld.